"The Barbican"

No. 11 - May 1938

Loaned by Joe Warr - Edited by Maurice Hobden

HIS issue
of the Barbican is a great improvement on the
previous one which had very little of any substance, yet the
editor is the same. Here we have reports of significant events
like school plays, camps at Chamonix, tramping in the Black
Forest, NRB's unsuccessful hobbies idea, Speech Day, hilarious
Parent's evenings, Scouts and letters from old boys in the far
flung Empire. There are also two excellent linocuts from boys.

Extracts from the Barbican

Frontispiece

THE BARBICAN

NUMBER ELEVEN

The Magazine OfThe Lewes County SchoolFor Boys

May 1938

EDITORIAL

After having been inundated with contributions for the
previous three numbers of THE BARBICAN we now have to raise our
voice in protest at the scarcity of original work which has been
forthcoming for the present issue. There are some stalwarts who
can always be relied upon, but on the whole the response to our
request for contributions has been very poor.

His rebus dictis, we can now turn our attention to the
more cheerful subject of School activities during the Christmas
and Spring terms.

Last July we bade a reluctant farewell to Mr. Dolden, who left
us to take up another position. Though sorry to lose him, we wish
him the best of luck in his new post. We would also extend a
somewhat belated welcome to Mr. Page, who took Mr. Dolden's place
in September.

Chief among the activities of the Winter term was, of course,
the School Play, which met with its usual success. Mr. Stripe,
the producer, and all those who took part, both on the stage and
behind the scenes are to be congratulated on a difficult job well
done, for Ibsen's " Pretenders " was by far the most ambitious
production we have yet tackled.

With regard to the Rugger results, these were not so
satisfying. During the Christmas term the 1st XV failed to find
its form and only won one match. After Christmas, however, there
was a great improvement, and often the play reached the high
standard of last season.

Finally, mention should be made of the School Camp, which was
held last summer at Chamonix. As usual, it was thoroughly enjoyed
by all who went and must rank as an important School
achievement.

HOUSE NOTES

Lewes House lost several of its senior members at the end of
the Summer term, and hence had some difficulty in selecting
strong teams for the Rugby House Matches. In spite of this, the
two teams showed a spirit which has often been lacking before,
and defeated all their opponents except Seahaven 1st XV, while,
even in this game, we were far from disgraced. It is to be hoped
that the same spirit will lead to better results in cross-country
running, athletics and cricket. Unfortunately, the Junior Soccer
XI were unable to emulate their elder brethren, and only gained
one victory in their six matches.

If the House has cause to congratulate itself on the results
of the Rugby season, there is great need of improvement in the
less conspicuous, but more important sphere of work. Since the
opening of the School, Lewes House has held the third place in
the Work Shield, and the reasons for this are obvious. While
there are many boys who honestly work hard, there are an
appreciable number who make no effort to achieve good results.
Their low percentage of House points impedes the boys who are
endeavouring to uphold the cause of their House in this
connection. Such a state of affairs affords an unpleasant
contrast to the team spirit mentioned earlier, and ought not to
continue.

Finally, it is necessary to add a note of warning about the "
Innes " Swimming Trophy. In the past Lewes House has always
relied largely on a few individuals to win this cup. This year
most of these boys have left, and all must endeavour to attain
the highest possible standard if the trophy is to be
retained.
B. J. K.

In Rugby last season Martlets did not achieve very good
results. It is true that we had lost several senior members, but
this fact alone was not responsible for the mediocre results. The
1st XV beat Uckfield comfortably, but lost badly to Seahaven and
Lewes ; the 2nd XV managed to defeat only Uckfield. With a little
more keenness we should have done much better. By winning all
their matches except one the Junior Soccer XI set an example to
the rest of the House.

It is to be hoped that as many members as possible will turn
out for the Cross-country Run, as every boy who runs gets a point
for his House. Next term there will be swimming and cricket. Last
year Martlets won the Games Shield ; with keen effort all round
we can win it again.

The work of the House has not been very satisfactory so far.
While some boys have been doing good work, others have been doing
badly, thus hampering the work of those who are trying to do
their best for the House. In work, as in, games, keenness is
absolutely necessary ; in order to win the Work Shield every one
must do a little extra next term.

We extend our best wishes for success to all members of the
House who are taking the School Certificate examination this
summer.
H. G. K.

Seahaven enjoyed a successful football season in the
traditional style and have made a good start in their attempt to
recover the Games Shield. The results were : 1st XV, won all 3
matches ; 2nd XV won 1, drew 1, lost 1 ; Junior Soccer XI, won 5,
lost 1. Thus, a successful cricket season should see the trophy
once again in our possession.

Traditionally, also, we remain in the same position in the
Work Competition alternating between third and last every
fortnight. Evidently we find football exhausting !

Our chances of winning any other trophy besides the Games
Shield are brighter than they have been. If we can improve our
cross-country running, and do as well as we did last year in the
sports and the qualifying heats, we stand a reasonable chance of
winning the Athletics Cup, and we must atone for our
disappointing display in last year's swimming sports.
S. Hart.

Our hopes of winning the Games Shield in 1937 were dashed by
the results of the Cricket House matches. As before, we were hit
harder than any other House by the demands of School matches, but
even then we managed to come second. We again won the Work Shield
by a comfortable margin for the fourth successive year. At the
time of writing we have only three points out of a possible 24
for the Games Shield, which is hardly brilliant. The Junior
Soccer XI won one match out of six and lost the rest ; the Senior
Rugby XV lost every match ; and the Junior Rugby XV drew one and
lost the rest.

The most disappointing feature of the Rugger was the failure
of members of the teams to turn up. Whereas before we had been
one of the keenest Houses, in two of the three senior Rugger
matches we were playing without a full team. Anyhow, let us turn
to a more cheerful side. We have a very good chance of winning
the Athletics and Cross-country Cups again. So come on Uckfield !
Vouloir c'est pouvoir.
S. G. Henderson.

THE SIXTH FORM SOCIETY

The Sixth Form Society enjoyed another successful season in
spite of the loss of several old members and reluctance on the
part of certain new ones to get up on their feet, or even to
attend meetings at all. During the Christmas term officials were
: Mr. O'Brien, chairman ; S. G. Henderson secretary ; B. J.
Ketchell treasurer with G. Gravett and D. Buller as members of
the Committee though when the latter left he was replaced by J.
Henderson. Activities included talks on Newfoundland and Germany
by members with first-hand experience, and a joint debate with
Varndean School.

In the Easter term officials were : Mr. Stripe, chairman ; P.
W. Ridley, secretary; R. I. B. Cooper treasurer ; M. G. Knight
and I. Roberts, Committee. In addition to ordinary features, such
as literary evenings there were talks on " Modern Art " and "
Canterbury Cathedral," a play reading of " The Ascent of F.6 " by
W. M. Auden and Christopher Isherwood, and a joint debate with
the Fifth Form. During the latter part of the term, members of
the Fifth Form were admitted to all meetings.
P. W. Ridley.

SCIENTIFIC SOCIETY

The Society carried on its activities this term, and began
with a series of lectures by Mr. Hoggins on " Colour Printing and
Colour Photography." These were followed by a lecture by B.
Thomas on " Development of Aircraft during the War." Then Mr.
Bowman once more addressed the Society with a talk on " Life in
the Coal Ages." The last lecture of the term was given by S. G.
Henderson, who spoke on Mount Everest.
C. F. Chivers.

THE SCHOOL CHESS CLUB

At the beginning of the Spring term, a Chess Club was formed.
Officers appointed were : President, Mr. Bradshaw; Chairman, Mr.
Hoggins ; Vice-chairman Mr. Tayler ; Secretary, S. G. Henderson ;
Members of the Committee, R. I. B. Cooper, and P. Ridley. The
Club was originally intended to be open to the whole School, but
was later confined to the senior forms. A fairly steady
attendance was kept up and many enjoyable games were played. Next
term we hope to have a tournament with teams of four from each
House.
S. G. Henderson.

TRAMPING IN THE BLACK FOREST

During last summer holiday, Ketchell and I had the good
fortune to spend three weeks in the Black Forest in Germany.
Leaving Lewes at about 7.30 p.m. on Wednesday, 18th August, we
went via Dover and Ostend to Baden-Baden, the famous spa in the
north of the Black Forest, where we arrived at about 6 p.m. the
following day. Our plan was to walk southwards as far as we could
in the time and then return to Baden-Baden. Throughout the whole
holiday we stayed at Youth Hostels, in which you can put up for
the very low cost of 3o pfennig (about 4d.) a night. As there is
one of these in nearly every town in the Black Forest we never
experienced any difficulty in securing accommodation, and in most
cases the standard of comfort and cleanliness in the Hostels left
little to be desired, though we did find one in a small town,
called Haslach, which did its best to give us a thoroughly bad
impression, of German Youth Hostels. The chief disadvantage in
using these Hostels is that only in the larger ones can you
obtain food, whereas in England, though accommodation costs 1s. a
night, full meals can nearly always be obtained at quite a low
price.

On the whole the weather was quite tolerable and we finished
our holiday in a miniature heat wave, but the climatic conditions
always tended to be what is generally known as unsettled, and
sudden thunderstorms had a disconcerting habit of surprising us
when there was no shelter at hand.

As one of the chief objects of the trip was to " brush up "
our German, we tried to mix as much as possible with Germans in
the hostels. We had hoped to spend most of our time walking with
them, but this turned out to be impossible as most of them were
touring on bicycles. It says much for their energy and enthusiasm
that they enjoy cycling holidays on the "dreadnoughts" they all
seem to ride. Not once did we see a bicycle which the pukka
English cyclist would recognise as such, but the German youths
seemed quite content with them and covered tremendous distances
on them. At Freudenstadt we were fortunate in meeting a German
fellow of 19, who was carrying out a sort of "grand tour" of
Germany on foot before doing his turn of service in the Labour
Camp and the Army. He had left his home in Silesia the previous
Spring and expected to return in August, 1938. He was a painter
and decorator by trade, and when he ran short of money, he would
stop and work till his funds were replenished. As we walked with
him for four days we were able to get to know him quite well and
found that he was by no means an enthusiastic Nazi. This rather
surprised us, as all the German youth we had met seemed genuinely
passionate in their support of Hitler and the creed he stands
for. But though not agreeing with the present system in Germany,
the prospect of his service in the Labour Camp and the Army did
not seem to worry him at all, and what impressed us most about
him was his philosophical tolerance -- a quality sadly lacking in
Germany to-day. We were very sorry indeed when we had to leave
him at Freiburg.

You cannot meet the German youths without being struck by the
extraordinary monotony of their diet, which consisted entirely of
bread with either cheese, sausage or jam! Anxious to cut down
our expenses we tried to follow their example, but our delicate
systems rebelled against this harsh treatment and forced us,
after a brief experiment, to resume a more civilised form of
nourishment.

To turn to matters on a higher plane, we found the scenery in
the Black Forest beyond our expectations in its attractiveness,
and it was a source of great annoyance when we found that the
camera had apparently suffered en route and presented us with six
decent snaps out of three rolls of film. This annoyance was not
diminished when we discovered, on our return to England, that
there was nothing wrong with the camera at all, but that in our
ignorance we had accidentally adjusted the lens in such a way
that we had been taking time-exposures ! This practice is not to
be recommended in such circumstances, especially when there is
such excellent material for snapshots as the Feldberg,
Schauinsland and Titisee, to mention but a few famous beauty
spots which the Schwarzwald afforded us.

Finally, a word on that all important subject of cost. The
whole trip, including the fare, which was about £4 10s.,
was done on £10 each [about £1000 at 2002 values],
and we were both fully satisfied that we had received more than
our money's worth. We had improved our German (as I am sure the
German master will unhesitatingly affirm !); we had made the
acquaintance of many young German people and tried to understand
their point of view; we had spent three weeks walking amidst some
of the most beautiful scenery in Germany, and had spent a holiday
which was, in every way, in itself an education.
A. G. E.

RUGBY FOOTBALL

Our sixth and first full Rugby season started disappointingly,
but improved later. With only five of last year's all-conquering
team, and faced with a much stronger fixture list, we only
managed to win one match in the Autumn term. After Christmas,
however, things were very different, and the five matches
resulted in one defeat, one draw, and three convincing victories,
in which the play frequently reached last year's high
standard.

In contrast to last season, when we hit on the right team and
formation in the very first match, we seemed this year unable to
settle down, and seldom looked like a team until after
Christmas.

The forwards on the whole were disappointing. Though often
good individually they did not combine well, and thus the backs
saw far too little of the ball. They were particularly bad at
getting down in the loose for a quick heel, thus often throwing
away valuable attacking chances. The most improved player was
Schmid ; Ketchell was as sound as ever, and late in the season
Cull developed into a very useful wing forward.

The half-backs were as good as any we have had, Evans proved
himself a worthy successor to Huntington and when Holton finally
settled into the fly-half position he was a great success and our
attack improved immediately. If we had adopted this formation at
the start of the season, our earlier results would have been much
better.

Of the three-quarters, Tomley, playing in the centre, did good
defensive work, but only occasionally did he show last year's
attacking form. Roberts was useful in attack and combined well
with Thomas, whose huge stride and deceptive pace played a large
part in our later successes. Hart often ran well, but will be
mainly remembered for his amazing goal-kicking.

Gravett, at full back, never touched his last year's form. He
left at Christmas and was succeeded by Ruffle, who, though rather
small, played a plucky game.

The 2nd XV, who also improved as the season advanced, lost to
Worthing, and Seaford, were just beaten by Skinner's School, and
finished up with a good win in their return match with
Worthing.

The Juniors had three good games with Hurst and Seaford and
two rather discouraging ones with Worthing, in which they were
outplayed by a much bigger team.

As regards next seasons prospects nearly all the present 1st
XV and many of the 2nd XV are leaving in July, so we shall be
rather young and inexperienced. Probably then, we can expect a
moderate season next year, followed by a good one the year
after.

Finally hearty congratulations to Holton on playing for the
Sussex Public Schoolboys' XV against Hampshire in the Christmas
holidays and to E. C. Wynter, our last year's vice-captain, on
playing in Freshers Trials and for The Greyhounds at
Oxford.
H. F. T.

HOBBIES

An interesting experiment was incorporated in the School
curriculum this term. From 3.20 to 4.20 every Tuesday afternoon
was devoted to hobbies. The School was divided up, irrespective
of age or ability, into groups, as far as possible according to
individual preference, each group indulging in its own particular
hobby, such as gardening, music, photography, and others. It is
hoped that by this means boys may be encouraged to have interests
outside their school work, and to obtain the maximum enjoyment
from their hobbies in the company of others.
R. C. (VI).

A POTTED THRILLER

VENGEANCE

Suddenly I was aware of another presence in the room, and I
gave a shudder of horror as I saw my enemy creeping, stealthily
along by the wall. He advanced slowly, keeping an eye on me for
any movement.

I sat quite still, scarcely daring to breathe, lest he should
make an attack before I could close with him, but with the
determination in my heart to end this fear that had lived with me
by day and haunted me by night.

Yes! I would end this dread of his falling upon me as I lay
defenceless in the dark.

Now in the daylight I had regained my courage, and hardly
moving, I looked about furtively for a weapon. Could I reach it
without his guessing my intention ?

I bent cautiously forward to grab it, and at this he paused as
if about to beat a hasty retreat. His hesitation was my
opportunity. I grasped my weapon, rushed upon him, and dealt him
a blow to fell an ox.

Awful moment of suspense! Had I killed him? Cheers! He was
done for.

"No shivering terror shall keep me awake again," I murmured,
as I removed the mangled remains of a spider from the sole of my
slipper.

B. D. Charman (Va).

THE SCHOOL PLAY

"THE PRETENDERS"

By HENRIK IBSEN

When I was asked to come and see this play I had to confess
that I had never heard of it. That was, perhaps, not surprising
as it has only been given twice (?) in England before. I went and
bought a copy and read the thing straight through. This will be
good, I thought. The night came and I thoroughly enjoyed myself.
There is plenty of incident and (more difficult) plenty of
characterisation, and although the performance could not be
called perfect, we were given what I felt to be the right flavour
-- a very important point in the presentation of any play.

The Bishop seemed to me to have managed to extract the most
from his part. He spoke his words excellently and, though
inclined to overact, varied his gestures in a manner which
several other members of the cast might have copied with
advantage. This was Skule's great fault -- poverty of gesture --
which spoiled an otherwise sincere and convincing rendering.
Knowing what to do with your hands and then doing it naturally is
of paramount importance. Of the other men Haakon looked every
inch a king (without his helmet), and spoke with admirable
restraint and dignity. He would have been even better if he had
varied the tones of his voice more. Peter, I thought, was another
whose rendering was particularly good. He had the right youthful
impetuosity and made you feel he would stick at nothing to gain
the realisation of his father's great ideal.

The women were disappointing. Perhaps they were afraid of
seeming unwomanly if they raised their voices, but they were so
decorous as to be often almost inaudible. If they had let
themselves go a little more they would have brought their scenes
to life.

The scenery was simple but not quite simple enough. The three
arches in the background were an excellent idea, but would have
looked still better if their rough-hewn stones had been a little
less roughly hewn -- and wouldn't it have been easier if the
great doors had opened inwards ? The marshalling of processions
was made unnecessarily difficult.

I hope that no one imagines from the foregoing remarks that
the play was a failure. It was most emphatically worth doing as I
am sure all who took part in it will agree. But it is only
through mistakes made in the past that perfection can be reached
in the future. What is particularly encouraging is to find that
plays such as " The Pretenders " are being given at schools in
preference to works which are, perhaps, easier, but which
everybody knows.
G. A. C.

THE SCHOOL CAMP AT CHAMONIX

(With acknowledgments to the Sussex Daily News)

A party of 48 from the Lewes County School for Boys left by
the morning boat from Newhaven on Thursday 2gth July, bound for a
fortnight's camping holiday at Chamonix, in the French Alps.

On our arrival at Paris (writes a correspondent) we were
conducted by Messrs. Cooks on a short sight-seeing tour, during
which we were shown Notre Dame, the Louvre, the Arc de Triomphe,
and many other famous spots, and also had a brief glimpse of some
of the very striking buildings of the Paris Exhibition. A good
meal at the Gare de Lyons Buffet, and at 10 p.m. we were off
again on the most tiring part of our joumey -- the twelve-hour
trip from Paris to Le Fayet.

By an intelligent use of luggage-racks, kit-bags, and other
devices, many of us managed to sleep for at least ten minutes on
end, but when dawn broke we soon shook off our weariness in the
interest of our new surroundings, as we had by now reached the
beginnings of mountain country, and there was much speculation as
to when we should see the first snow.

At Le Fayet we changed into the mountain electric railway, and
at once began climbing at a tremendous gradient, soon getting our
first thrilling view of Mont Blanc and its brother giants. We
eventually arrived at Chamonix at 11 a.m., grimly prepared for a
strenuous two or three hours putting up the tents and getting the
camp in order.

Pitching a camp in the broiling sun after so many hours of
travelling is a pretty gruelling business, as those who camped on
the Rhine will remember, but what absolute heaven such a prospect
seemed when we learnt, on getting out of the train, that our
tents and camping gear had not arrived and were not expected for
several days ! Nowhere to sleep ! Nothing to cook with ! Here was
a Snag with a capital " S."

At this moment there stepped into the picture our permanent
Guardian Angel, in the shape of M. Franzois Couttet who, an old
friend of Mr. Morrish, was lending us his field for our camp. He
now gave us the full use of his barns and outhouses, with a
liberal supply of hay, and he and his family spent the rest of
the day assisting us in every way possible -- first supplying the
boys with a hot meal, and then helping us in finding rooms for
the ladies of our party (no easy matter in August), and in buying
the necessary new cooking equipment.

By Saturday morning we all felt a bit fresher and less
worried, and in the afternoon we made a short expedition to the
source of the Arveyron, which bursts out from the snout of the
Glacier des Bois. A sudden change in the brilliant weather on the
way home brought on two heavy showers and as we had gone without
coats we were all drenched to the skin.

Sunday was a really wet day, but our only one, and from then
onwards we enjoyed almost perfect weather, and made excellent use
of it.

Our first experience of glacier work was the crossing of the
Glacier des Bossons and here we realised forcibly just why we had
been warned to wear nailed boots. One or two who had not heeded
this warning were in difficulties at once, and here, as always,
we were very glad of the help and experience of Mr. Morrish. The
last bit was a definite thrill for us all and more than one
member of the party heaved a sigh of relief as the last boy
negotiated that nasty corner and trotted up to the chalet nearby
for a warming drink of coffee. Our next glacier expedition was to
the Mer de Glace. We made an all-day trip of this, travelling up
by the mountain cog-railway as far as the Montenvers Hotel. We
found this much simpler than Les Bossons, and after lunching at
the edge, we spent an hour or two prancing merrily about on this
famous glacier, under the guidance of M. Couttet and his son,
Pierre.

By way of contrast we made one long afternoon expedition --
the easiest kind of trip from camp -- through the beautiful gorge
of the Diosaz River. Here we followed the path that has been cut
along the sides of this magnificent gorge, and were rewarded at
every bend by some fresh picture of lovely waterfall or rushing
torrent, while the great cliffs on either side towered higher and
higher as we proceeded.

On some days we would split into two parties, the more
energetic electing to storm some new height, while the rest lazed
about or bathed in the pleasant pool at the edge of the wood.
Such voluntary expeditions included a three and a half hour climb
to La Flegere, a famous viewpoint giving on to the whole Mont
Blanc range ; a shorter one in the same direction to the Chalet
de Floriaz ; and, on the last afternoon, a ride in the "
Teleferique " Cable Car to the Plan Praz, half-way up the Brevent
mountain, followed by a hearty climb to the summit. Here, from a
height of over 7,000 ft., we had an even more glorious view than
from La Flegere, and our only regret was that we could not stay
here long enough to appreciate it to the full.

The most strenuous climb of all was undertaken by only a few
of the " toughest," who started off with M. Couttet at 5 a.m. to
search for crystals on the Mont Blanc Glacier. All voted it
pretty stiff, but well worth the effort.

Towards the end of our stay we spent a day in visiting Geneva,
where our main activity was a tour of the Palais des Nations, the
new League of Nations building. " Palace " is certainly the word
for it, and it would be difficult to imagine a grander and yet
more restful centre for this great ideal. The view from the
windows of the Secretariat over the calm blue waters of the Lake
to the distant Mont Blanc range ought alone to be enough to put
any war-minded or self-seeking statesman into a more peaceable
and generous frame of mind.

And then, to round off the thrills and excitements of such
expeditions as these, we had the lovely evenings -- surely in
many ways the pleasantest time in a camp -- when after a hard day
on the heights we strolled about the camp at leisure watching the
last of the sunlight on the peaks above, and the gradual
afterglow dyeing the snows a glorious pink.

The 150th anniversary of the first ascent of Mont Blanc by de
Saussure and Balmat occurred during our stay, and was the
occasion of a short but interesting ceremony in the square, where
stands the statue of these two pioneers, pointing dramatically
towards the summit of the mountain. Speeches were made by the
Mayor of Chamonix, the chief Swiss representative in the district
and the Hon. President of the Chamonix Guides. The latter, a
fine-looking old man and well-known ex-guide, made a moving
speech, which was loudly applauded by the crowd. Girls in
national costume then placed bouquets of Alpine flowers at the
foot of the statue, and thus the ceremony came to an end.

The tents and camp gear did not arrive for nearly a week, and
though we had been very comfortable in our makeshift quarters, we
were all glad to get properly into camp, and the full range of
cooking utensils made the feeding problem much easier.

The actual camp site was ideal -- a clearing in the Bois
de Bouchet, right at the foot of the Chamonix "Needles" and in
full view of Mont Blanc, with glacier streams on two sides,
plenty of wood and drinking water within easy reach and only
a short mile from the town. The variation of temperature was
rather startling, cold nights and early mornings suddenly
changing to intense heat as the sun came over the mountains.

As every camper knows there is always a tremendous amount of
stout work to be done simply in keeping the camp running, quite
apart from expeditions, walks, etc. All took their share of
duties, but special mention must be made of the old boys, who set
the rest a fine example and were always ready and willing to lend
a hand. We hope we may always have such a cheery and helpful band
of them in camp with us.

We owe Mr. Morrish a great debt of gratitude for his
enthusiastic help and guidance on all our expeditions, but a
still greater one for having introduced us to those charming and
generous hosts, M. and Mme. Couttet and their family. Nothing was
too much trouble for M. Couttet, and right from the start, when
he threw open all his available barn space for us, to the very
last day, when he supplied the whole party with a hot roast
dinner and a final cup of tea, he was kindness itself.

None of us is every likely to forget this holiday at Chamonix,
and with that memory will always be linked the kindly smile and
friendly handshake of Francois Couttet.
H. F. T.

SPEECH DAY 1937

The Annual Speech Day and Prize Distribution was held on
Wednesday, 17th November. Sir George BoughEy, Bart., Chairman of
the Governors, presided, and the School was addressed by Mr.
Kenneth Lindsay, M.P., Parliamentary Secretary to the Board of
Education, who afterwards presented the prizes.

THE CROSS-COUNTRY RACE

On 6th April we held our annual cross-country race. As last
year there were three separate events, the Senior, Colt, and
Junior, the Seniors covering a four-mile course, whilst the Colts
and Juniors ran an identical three-mile course. The conditions
were very favourable, the marshes being their driest for many
weeks, and the day of the race was calm and warm.

The Colts' event was the first of the afternoon, 64 boys
competing. The Juniors were next with a record entry of 73,
whilst the Seniors ran last with 44 entrants.

Braidwood was the first man home leading the field of Colts,
his time being 20 minutes 37 seconds. He was followed by A.
Holton, with Wray, Head, and Humphries, close behind.

Judging by the Colts, we estimated the Juniors' time to be
about 24 minutes, but, surprisingly enough a bunch of Juniors,
running strongly, soon arrived, headed by Jerrard. His time, 20
minutes 34 seconds, was three seconds faster than the Colts.
Jerrard and the Juniors are to be congratulated on the best event
of the day.

The Seniors' race produced some surprises. Marson finished
strongly to win, followed by Chant and then Baker. Baker's
performance, in view of his slight stature and age, was
outstanding, and he certainly deserved the applause that he
received at the finish. J. Holton, last year's winner, arrived
home in the ninth position, showing signs of discomfort --
evidently not very fit.

PARENTS' EVENING - 1938

In spite of the break with age-long tradition in separating
Parents' Evening from our annual Christmas bun-fight, I think we
can congratulate ourselves on yet another successful School
function. Great interest was shown in the usual exhibitions in
the handicraft and art rooms, whilst Mr. Page's gym. team drew a
large crowd. Parents also flocked to see the recently completed
Sixth Form laboratories and form room upstairs.

Parents then went into the hall, where the Headmaster gave his
customary address. When this had terminated the School was
allowed into the hall for the concert. The School choir started
the ball rolling with three songs, " Brother James's Air," the "
Court Brawle," and a Strauss waltz, conducted by Mr. Locke, and
accompanied by Mr. Bowman. Then Mr. Gosling, correctly attired,
came forward to compere the remainder of the show. After prima
ballerina Chivers and company had broken the ice with the
archeological ballet, Messrs. Auld and Locke sang a duet, "
Venetian Serenade." Two songs should have followed, sung by Mr.
Smith, but there was a technical hitch, and we passed on to the
next item, which was another ballet, entitled " Gardening." At
last we had the songs promised by Mr. Smith, followed by " Sam,
Sam, pick up t'musket," in the true Stanley Holloway tradition
from Mr. Pett, a newcomer to our variety bill. R. B. Smith played
a piano solo, Liszt's Second Hungarian Rhapsody, and the ballet
made their final appearance as " Birdwatchers." Then followed "
The Boy Scouts," by Messrs. Euston, Locke, Page, Pett, and Auld,
and the proceedings finished with a performance of " The Grand
Cham's Diamond," a one-act play produced by Mr. Stripe.

Parents who came from outlying districts must have returned
late; but I hope they felt it was worth it.
J. Henderson (VI).

[Note: Although this event is not precisely dated, it was
somewhen in the autumn/winter of 1937/38. The "Sixth form
laboratories and form room" had, so it says, by then been
completed. The latter room became the biology lab. These rooms
were built on top of the existing gymnasium that divided the West
and East Quadrangle with a new stair case down on the south end
near the staff-room. So it would seem that these additions to the
school had followed on immediately from the building of the two
extra classrooms referred to in the poem in Barbican No 10.]

THE SCHOOL SCOUTS

With the distractions of the Rally behind us, we were able to
get on with definite troop work during the Summer term.

Owing primarily to their greater age, several of the Patrol
Leaders left the Troop to join the Rovers. Of these, Relf joined
the 6th Lewes Crew, while Noel stayed on with the Troop as A.S.M.

On the Sunday following St. George's Day (25th April), we
attended a church parade at Ditchling. The day was fine and
sunny, and even if the time of the band was not all that it might
have been, the afternoon was very enjoyable and the address given
by the Rev. Kingsford impressed even the youngest of the
Scouts.

When the weather permitted, the meetings were held out of
doors and two or three tracking expeditions were arranged. The
first of our Second Class badges was gained by G. Holt on one of
these.

The Scoutmaster was married during the Easter holidays
and on the last meeting of the term the Troop made him a
presentation of a table lighter. On the week-end 3rd and 4th
July, several of the Troop attended a camp at Christ's Hospital,
Horsham. Although the weather rather let us down, it was an
excellent camp, and a few of the boys, determined not to waste a
moment of it, disturbed the sleep of the Scoutmaster and the more
sensible (or lazy) members of the party, by getting up at the
unearthly hour of 5.30.

On the Saturday evening a Camp Fire was held in the corner of
the grounds. The Troop gave a turn which went slightly wrong but
which was, nevertheless, very amusing: We came back after tea on
the Sunday evening.

For the last meeting of the Summer term we invited members of
other Troops to the School and had a Camp Fire. The meeting got
rather warmed up towards the end and we did not break up until
well after 10.30.

The 28th July saw a cricket match between the School Troop and
the winners of the Lewes and District Scout Cricket League, in
which we got sadly beaten.

At the beginning of the Winter term we welcomed Mr. Page, a
new member of the School staff, as A.S.M. Quite a few boys
attended week-end camps at Falmer and we got three more Second
Class badges. On 15th October, Gravett gave a lantern lecture on
his trip to Newfoundland with the Public Schools Exploring
Society, and on 4th December we entered a team for a Master at
Arms Display held in the Town Hall, of which the high spot was
the heavy-weight fight between R. Wynter and a member of the
Cooksbridge Troop, which Wynter won on points. We had a return
game with the 2nd Lewes on the Downs on the evening of 6th
December. After we had beaten them by 3 points to 1, we returned
to their headquarters and had cocoa and biscuits.

We wound up the year with a Christmas good deed. This
consisted of collecting a large quantity of wood, cutting it up
into convenient bundles, and distributing it to the poor of the
district.

I think it can be fairly said that, owing to the efforts of
the Scoutmaster, and the willing co-operation of the Troop, we
have finally found our feet in Scouting. We now have 9 Second
Class badges and several of these are well on the way to their
First Class. The last few meetings, which, incidentally, have
been as successful as any, have been planned by members of the
Troop instead of by the S.M. or A.S.M.

Finally, I should like to take this opportunity of reminding
all members that it is their duty as Scouts to put in an
appearance on Friday evenings. We know there is homework and lots
of other things to be done, but it is essential to the well-being
of the Troop that all meetings are well attended.
P. R. Noel, Assistant Scoutmaster.

[Philip Noel tells us that Mr Sam Smith, the very tall maths
master, was Scoutmaster.]

CAREERS FUND

The fund continues to make steady progress. Since the last
issue of the magazine four loans have been made to assist
deserving cases. One of the most pleasing features is the
promptness with which Old Boys fulfil the conditions attached to
such loans and repay their instalments.

We thank them all most gratefully and hope that they are happy
in the knowledge that they are helping on a good work.

[Note: It is not easy for those whose school education
finished after 1950 to appreciate the difficulties that boys from
the poorest backgrounds had when stepping into the post-school
world. In the pre-war era it was particularly difficult for poor
parents to find the ready money for their child to jump the
simplest of hurdles into the world of work or further education.
At that time the County was very sparing with grants and loans
from banks and finance houses -- today readily available to
anyone -- were not available. So Mr Bradshaw and Edgar Povey set
up a fund to help boys over this obstacle. Most of the donations
came from within the parent community -- often from grateful
relatively well-off parents who realised what good value they
were getting from the school and who wished to thank NRB in some
tangible way. The loans were to be repaid in installments later
and invariably were. After about 1950 the fund was rarely needed
as wages and prosperity slowly grew and more grants became
available from the County and State.]

The activities of the Old Lewesians' Association during the
past year have, as mentioned in the September, 1937, issue, been
mainly concentrated on the social side of the Association.

The first event on the Old Boys' programme was the Annual
General Meeting and Dinner, which was successfully held at
Holloway's Restaurant, Lewes, on Saturday, 9th October, 1937,
when about 75 members were present.

At the Annual General Meeting, which took place before the
Dinner, the following officers were elected for the forthcoming
year.

The number of members to serve on the Committee was increased
to six, and Messrs. E. L. Cook, A. Anderson, T. A. Hayward, R. S.
Green, A. A. Fenner, and P. G. Hall were elected.

The retiring member of the Careers Fund Committee, Mr. T. A.
Hayward, was re-elected, to retire by rotation in 1939.

Then followed reports by the Hon. Secretary and Hon.
Treasurer, and by Mr. Bradshaw on the Careers Fund. The meeting
terminated with a vote of thanks to the Chairman and was followed
by the Annual Dinner, and entertainment by Mr. V. Courtney, who
kept the company in roars of laughter.

At the next Committee Meeting, the following Winter Programme
was drawn up and a copy sent to all Old Boys :

This programme has now been carried out except for one event,
which was unavoidably cancelled owing to lack of support.

On 20th November the Old Lewesians' Rugby XV played the School
and won by 8 points to 6.

On 8th January we were entertained to supper at the School by
the President. Mr. and Mrs. Parkinson and their helpers served an
excellent meal which was followed by games, music, and social
intercourse. Altogether one of the most enjoyable functions we
have held, and attended by 80 Old Boys. Our grateful thanks are
due to Mr. Povey.

On 28th January an experiment was made by holding an Old Boys'
Dance on a Friday, so as to permit dancing until 1 o'clock. It
was a success and out of the resultant profit £10 was
allocated to the Careers Fund and £2 6s. 7d. to the General
Fund.

The second Rugby match v. the School took place on 12th
February, when the Old Boys were beaten 13 points to 3.

It was found impossible to hold the ramble on 20th March owing
to insufficient notifications being returned by members as to
whether or not they were coming. Will members, therefore, please
remember this and help the Association by returning notifications
promptly.

NOTES ON OLD BOYS

Since the last issue of the magazine we have heard news from
several Old Boys. Letters from H. G. Edwards and Barker are
reprinted in full below.

P. E. TROTT is working as a Grade 3 Assistant in the
Department of Industrial and Scientific Research. He finds his
work very interesting, and at the moment is engaged in gas
analysis.

G. HUTTON has secured an appointment as chemical assistant
with a firm of electrical and radio manufacturers. F. W. COSSTICK
has now settled down at King Alfred's College, Winchester, and
has joined quite a number of societies, including the Debating,
Play-reading and Chess Societies. He plays for the 1st XV.

F. BEVAN is now working as an engineer for the Brighton
General Post Office. He has also joined the R.A.F. Volunteer
Reserve at Shoreham, and can already fly " solo."

R. HiLL is at present working as a railway clerk, but he has
ambitions to become an interpreter in some such tourist agency as
Cook's, or Dean and Dawson's. In consequence he is studying
modern languages in his spare time. We wish him the best of luck
in this venture.

J. E. RUTHERFORD is making good progress at St Edmund Hall,
and he has been accepted for the Carnegie Physical Training
College. He has also gained his Hall athletic colours, for which
achievement we offer our congratulations.

R. C. PENFOLD is in the Post Office Engineering Department as
an unestablished skilled workman. He has progressed rapidly since
he left school and finds his work very interesting.

N. E. CORNALL has commenced as an apprentice to pharmacy at
Boots in Windsor.

H. G. EDWARDS is in the R.A.F. Station at Lee-onSolent, Hants.
He had been doing a course for the Fleet Air Arm, consisting of
visual signalling, wireless and air firing. He was successful in
his test at the end of this course and was then drafted to 811
Squadron at Lee-on-Solent.

A. M. HAZLERIGG is doing well in the Trinidad Constabulary. He
has been promoted and now has a station of his own.

E. K. PAYNE is still at Reading and hopes to receive promotion
in the next week or two. His duties entail regular shift work, on
which there is no little responsibility. Like most Old Lewesians,
he seems extremely satisfied with his job.

D. MARANDE is working at Eastleigh as an apprentice in the
S.R. workshops. In order to get to his work he has to get up at 6
a.m., but he is thoroughly enjoying himself, though he tells us
that he bears only a remote resemblance to an Old Lewesian, with
smudges of grease on his face and in oily dungarees.

W. S. EADE visited us a few weeks ago. He is now in his last
year at University College, Southampton, and is looking for a
post.

E. C. WYNTER is following worthily in Rutherford's footsteps
at Oxford. In addition to his Rugger achievements, recorded under
the appropriate notes, he was picked as a heavy-weight for all
the 'Varsity boxing matches in the Autumn term. We hope he has
now overcome the cartilage trouble that put him out of
action.

N. W. CHATFIELD paid us a flying visit from the "seats of the
mighty" at Whitehall. So many Old Boys are finding posts in the
Civil Service that we believe it will soon constitute our London
branch of the Old Lewesians Association.

J. R. LAWRENCE came and saw the new extensions at the School.
His time is shared between running Messrs. Sainsbury and warbling
at dances.

The Association has suffered a grievous blow in the departure
of " Charlie " Hall to take up an appointment in London. Only
members of the Committee know how much work he has put in as
joint hon. secretary.

E. W. Cook has now left the Savoy and is at the Meurice in
Paris. The Duke and Duchess of Windsor and King Christian of
Denmark have also been staying there.

Hearty congratulations to PULLING, who has won an R.N.V.R.
boxing championship open to the whole country. Finally we offer
our sympathy to RICH on his severe illness and wish him a
complete and speedy recovery.

DEAR MR. BRADSHAW,
Many thanks for letter which came this morning as a very pleasant
surprise. You probably wondered what on earth I was doing at
Lee-on-Solent, but for the last six months I have been doing a
course for the Fleet Air Arm, consisting of visual signalling,
wireless, and air firing.

The first month was spent in Portsmouth Depot carrying out all
kinds of visual signalling, followed by four months of flying at
Lee-on-Solent working the wireless between machines and the
ground station. The most strenuous part of the course was at
North Coates Fitties, a small village about 14 miles from Grimsby
where I was told all about a Lewis gun, how to strip it and
mainly how to fire it.

Fortunately these courses do not last for ever, and about a
fortnight ago I had the satisfaction of knowing that I had
passed, finishing less than two points behind the top chap, and
had been drafted to 811 Squadron belonging to H.M.S,
Furious.

By the look of things the Squadron will be remaining here for
some time yet, as the Furious is undergoing repairs at
Devonport. My day's work consists of flying if there is any
flying to be done. If not, I take it easy until such time as the
weather clears to permit flying.

Well, so much for myself. My young brother is at present on
H.M.S. Barham in the Mediterranean and should be home some
time this year, although I do not know how soon. He followed in
my footsteps and went all out for wireless, and so far has done
very well. He came home for a week when the Barham visited
England for the Coronation but, unfortunately, I only saw him for
a short week-end.

Well, sir, I think it is about time to cease this scribble,
which certainly has not improved for quite a number of years.
Hoping you are having a successful term and yourself in the best
of health.
Yours very sincerely,
H. G. EDWARDS.

RAZAWI SCHOOL,
MARANDELLAS,
SOUTHERN RHODESIA.25th January, 1938.

DEAR MR. BRADSHAW,
I ought not to be here really, 8,500 miles away. I feel as though
I should be in Brighton teaching, or in Southampton, or at home.
It seems all wrong to me, somehow, and difflcult to believe until
I look at my surroundings. My sumptuous sitting-room overlooks
the vast veldt and huge blue gum trees are on my right. There
seem to be millions of crickets chirping merrily and, of course,
an array of marvellously-coloured flowers.

Well, I boarded the Arundel Castle on 31st December after a
good but rather tense Christmas. I soon settled down to enjoy the
voyage ; we had the English bowling team, Owen-Smith, and two or
three prominent wrestlers on board. Madeira did not impress me
very much, my Yorkshire instincts were repelled by the cringing,
begging, deceitful-looking Madeirans. It was a fine sight, though
; when we returned from Madeira they had turned the boat into a
sort of Petticoat Lane, selling their lace work, wicker work,
etc., While little lads of 10 or 12 shouted, " Small boy dive,
throw penny." Then when darkness came their boats were illumined
by torches and they spread their lace work out as they stood up
in their craft while the spangled lamps of Madeira gleamed across
the water. It was awfully hot after Madeira, but the deck games
and dancing went on. I was gradually eliminated from them all,
though I reached the final and should have won the ping-pong.

We had no rough weather, most of the time (until the Cape
rollers) ; the Arundel Castle furrowed her way through a placid
sea, and at night the big round moon provided the light for
dancing. I soon got to know Owen-Smith, whom I found to be a
grand fellow. He was the champion ping-pong player of the
tourists and we used to have some grand tussles together. He was
leading 11 games to 10 when we reached Cape Town.

We used to be up at 6.3o for a bathe before breakfast, deck
games during the morning, lounging round the swimming bath during
the afternoon, dancing until about 10, and then a party and
singing until 2 a.m. One day the 1st and 2nd played the officers
at cricket. Owen-Smith captained our team, but although he made
29 he could not get any of his famous spin on to the ball. We
played on deck inside a net with a rope ball ; the 1st and 2nd
won by 11 runs. I, of course, was out for a duck, first ball, as
a matter of fact -- but managed to get three wickets.

We arrived at Cape Town on Friday, the 14th. We were all up at
6 to see Table Mountain, but did not see it until 8. It is a
remarkable sight from the sea.

Well, after an hour or so in the Customs I set my foot in
Africa. We got on the train early next Thursday morning and
arrived midday Sunday at Marandellas. We were travelling first
class so that there were only two in each of our carriages. It
was dreadfully hot and dusty coming through the Karoo, and very
uninteresting country from the train, so that we were glad when
we arrived at Bulawayo on Saturday midday. It is a lovely town,
and they have the finest swimming baths I have ever seen; they
are very large with magnificent terracings. A fellow I met on the
train showed us all round -- he was a mining engineer in Northern
Rhodesia. Remarkable thing about these people is that before you
have known them five minutes they invite you to stay with them --
they mean it, too. I have had a letter from this fellow only this
morning, sort of confirming his verbal invitation.

Well, Razawi School is four miles out of Marandellas (a small
village about 50 odd miles from Salisbury). It is a really
remarkable school, I have never seen anything like it anywhere.
It cost, so I am told, over £50,000 to build and they are
adding to it. I have really no time to describe it now, but it is
really wonderful -- the staff common room is better than the
lounge of the Athenaeum. Term does not start until tomorrow week,
but a lot of the staff are back. There seem to be about seven
men, and four women, and two matrons, two nurses, housekeeper
etc. The place is entirely self-supporting, i.e., own laundry
kitchens, water plant, and electricity plants. They are just
putting up some stables, there is also a beautiful chapel
attached. Well, I will describe it all in some future letter. I
have a bedroom and sitting-room at the end of one of the
dormitories (there are six) and I believe I am in charge of a
house. You might tell any of the Old Boys who were contemporary
with me that a letter to a fellow 60 miles away from the nearest
town and 8,900 miles away from home will be very gratefully
received.
Yours sincerely,
DAVID B. BARKER.